Luke Littler has shed light on the incident that led him to label Gian van Veen a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen essentially conceded at the end of the match, prompting the comment.
The controversy began when Van Veen won a contentious match earlier in April, during which Littler reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in a dramatic deciding leg. Van Veen had stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which caused him to stare at Littler.
However, Littler has now shared his side of the story ahead of the Premier League Darts in Rotterdam. Littler explained that as he walked back around, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which he believed was disrespectful. Littler questioned Van Veen's actions, stating that he had never seen someone put their darts down in front of him before. He called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because he felt there was no need for Van Veen's behavior.
Littler also mentioned that when Van Veen won, he congratulated him and picked up his darts. Additionally, Littler stated that there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts. Littler shared that he was looking up at the TV, thinking that Van Veen would not miss his shot, and that he did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming.
Littler felt that Van Veen should have stepped back, looked at the floor, and then thrown his last dart instead of staring at him. Littler recently produced his worst televised average in Brighton, which he attributed to a lack of practice and not wanting to be there.
Van Veen also lost his first match, and the pair did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms. Littler believes that other incidents in darts have been more heated than his exchange with Van Veen, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. He thinks that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and create an exciting competition.